After over a decade as Treasury Services and Fleet Manager for FujiFilm Holdings, Jim Petrillo was awarded the Edward J. Bobit Fleet Manager of the Year at the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA) annual conference in San Antonio, Texas.

The Fleet Manager of the Year was created to recognize a proficient fleet manager who has demonstrated special business acumen in developing and executing key management policies in all areas. Eligible nominees are full-time commercial fleet managers who control a company-owned or leased fleet in excess of 100 cars and/or light trucks combined, and nominees are recognized nationally among their peers for their unique abilities and accomplishments. The Fleet Manager of the Year award is sponsored by Wheels Inc. and AFLA. 

After the 2008 financial crisis, FujiFilm was shoring up many of its departments and Petrillo found the fleet at his office door, so to speak.

“The VP decided it’d be a good fit for me, and I was excited about the opportunity. I’d always had a passion for cars, so the opportunity to geek out on technical details, prices, new models, contemporary safety features and more intrigued me.”

That initial intrigue took him far. Since then, Petrillo has transformed how FujiFilm views, conducts, and maintains its fleet, including an all-new electric vehicle pilot program dreamed up by the former financier. Petrillo has consistently demonstrated his ability to expertly manage FujiFilm’s fleet, including his creation and implementation of a comprehensive safety program. In 2017, Petrillo recognized the need for increased safety initiatives in the fleet and he developed a customized safety program. In 2019, he extended this initiative to include a virtual risk manager program designed to measurably reduce collisions and incidents from risky driving. 

He recently identified and secured cost-effective vehicles with contemporary safety features and since implementing the safety program, FujiFilm has experienced a more than 25% decrease in annualized incident rate. 

Petrillo not only weathered the COVID-19 storm in 2020, but flourished, researching and identifying suitable participants for an electric vehicle pilot program. As Fleet Manager for FujiFilm, Petrillo manages over 1,500 vehicles.